


Family is thicker than blood.

by NathalieGFR



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Amanda (Detroit: Become Human) Being an Asshole, Android Hank Anderson, Bad Parent Amanda (Detroit: Become Human), Child Abuse, Child Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Hank Anderson Swears, He's an android but he's still Hank, Human Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Human Upgraded Connor | RK900, I mean, Panic Attacks, child rk900 - Freeform, reverse au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:55:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23631964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NathalieGFR/pseuds/NathalieGFR
Summary: Rk 400 was a detective prototype designed to assist the DPD with any cases they have, so he didn't know why he was being taken to a private residence to be a house android. When he meets his little charge, a boy named Connor, he will have to do things he wasn't programed to do. But as he learns all the horrors the boy has to go through at the hands of his mother, he will feel things he was never meant to feel.
Relationships: Amanda & Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hank Anderson & Connor
Comments: 20
Kudos: 152





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! So this is my first fanfic for this fandom and the second thing I ever had the guts to publish. This fic was inspired by this [wonderful art](https://aloe-ve-puns.tumblr.com/post/613888007254245376/another-sketch-for-the-au-where-i-swapped-kara-and) by aloe-ve-puns on tumblr, so please check it out! It is such an amazing fanart and completely gave me the idea for this fic. They have some more wonderful pieces on DBH so you can definetly check those out too! I decided to put the violence warning just in case. You don't really see a lot of it in the fic but I wanted to be careful just in case. This story is going under editing right now. I am writing the last two chapters as I post this and I will post as I finish editing them. I will probably post twice a week, but this is basically finished. Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think!

RK400 was the first detective prototype Cyberlife had created. It was given to the DPD to aid in some cases and as a trial run to see what needed to be fixed on the prototype before mass production. However, as the first, and only, model released stood in a Cyberlife lab hooked to an assembling machine, it was clear that idea was completely forgotten by the company. Rk400 found that he was unable to move but could hear and see everything. He couldn’t move his eyes; he could only see what was directly in front of him. There was technician over by a laptop in the corner but not much else, the room was fairly empty.

His audio processors picked up the sound of footsteps, someone in heels, approaching the room. The door opened and a dark skin woman dressed in white clothes approached him.

“Is it ready?” asked the woman, her eyes looking over Rk400 with a calculating gaze.

“Almost Mss. Stern. It took quite a beating. The memory swipe is complete and the biocomponents were replaced. I’m just running a final calibration program to make sure all is functioning properly.” The technician voice shook with uncertainty. It was clear he was uncomfortable in the presence of the woman.

“Hmm. And the anti-deviancy program?”

“It…uh…It’s installed, Ma’am. Along with the housekeeping program and the modified childcare program we installed last time. W-with the modifications you gave me, of course.” The man informed all that was done to the android, trying to please the woman. “Like I said before, ma’am, the anti-deviancy program is not fully developed. It’s still a beta program-”

“It’ll do.” Her voice was clipped and cold. “You can renew the program and check for instabilities, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am. If you bring the unit every three months or so, I should be able to check the program and update it if necessary.”

“Good, an auto cab is outside for it. Give it my address when it’s done.”

“Of course! Umm, ma’am? What will happen with…uh…the whole revolution thing going on? I don’t really want any problems with…you know.”

“Then it’s a good thing this unit was decommissioned and disposed of when it was returned from the DPD, is it not?” she raised an eyebrow regarding the technician.

“Absolutely, yes. Sorry, ma’am.”

The woman left the room without another word and the technician turned back to the laptop.

“Man, I feel bad for sending you back there. I don’t understand why someone wants a detective prototype to take care of their children. That woman really is something.” The technician continued to ramble on while finishing up with the android.

Rk400 remained looking ahead until his programing put him back into stasis to finish the updates and calibrations.

* * *

The prototype detective was in an autocab heading to his owner’s house. His objectives were simple, head over to the Stern household and await further instructions. Easy.

The design of the Rk400 was made to blend in a police department, his long silver-gray hair tied in a low ponytail and well-trimmed beard along with his older appearance was designed for him to look like an experienced detective, not the usual house android.

He didn’t have any memories before the encounter at the lab a few hours ago, confirming the memory swipe his system registered. He also could see the basic housekeeping and childcare program running over his detective program. It was clear they weren’t able to take the it out or block it, so it was running in the background clouded by the other two. Rk400 didn’t know why he was to go to a home instead of a police department, but his instructions were clear so he didn’t spend more processing power on that thought. It didn’t matter. He had his instructions.

A large house came into view. It was a modern design, completely white on the outside with a big garden in the back. A lot of space for pets, his programing supplied. Maybe the family had a dog or something. The house didn’t look very inviting, it was clear that the design was made with the purpose to intimidate and flaunt wealth rather than warmth. Rk400 regarded it with uninterested eyes, his detective program telling him that this was common behavior within wealthy people, but not with people with children. There was absolutely no indication that a child could live here. No toys in the garden or playsets that could have easily fit in the oversized garden.

Rk400 exited the car and walked the path to the door. It opened automatically and in the middle of the receiving room he saw the same woman that was at the lab, dressed in the same white outfit, regarding him coolly. The android approached the woman, stopping at a reasonable distance and resumed his standby pose. With his hands loosely clasped behind his back, his posture neat but relaxed at the same time, the android awaited instructions.

The woman regarded him for a minute longer before beginning.

“My name is Amanda Stern. You will address me as Mss. Stern or Ma’am at all times.” She waited for his LED to indicate he was done processing the information before speaking again. “Rk400, register your name. Hendrik.”

“Name registered as Hendrik, ma’am.” He said while maintaining his pose.

“You will take care of all house chores and cooking. Your main task is looking after my children. Connor” a child appeared to have materialized next to the woman. He was small and thin, his scans showed he had recently turned 6 years old, but was short for his age group. He was dressed in black slacks and a plain white shirt. His back straight, head slightly tilted down and hands clasped stiffly behind his back. The kid was standing just within reach of Amanda, not looking at anyone in the room.

The woman placed a hand in his shoulder and Hendrik swore he could see Connor flinch minutely. As if nothing was amiss with his son’s stiff posture and obviously anxious behavior, she continued.

“He must follow this schedule. Download it and make sure he follows it closely. He must obey all of it, no matter what. He is behind enough as it is.” She finished with a look at the boy and his little head lowered further. “His brother, Niles, is in boarding school at the moment and won’t be back for two more months. _He_ doesn’t need such a monitored schedule, but you will aid him in what he needs when he is home. Is that understood?” The way she talked about her other son was clearly different from when she addressed Connor. The little boy looked ready to cry, but was clearly trying to remain still under his mother’s hand.

Hendrik was confused, this wasn’t a normal parent-child relationship, that much was clear. But he couldn’t understand why. This woman was clearly terrifying her son, but apparently that was how things normally worked in this place, so he didn’t spend more time thinking on it.

“Understood, Mss. Stern.” Hendrik moved forward to take the Tablet the woman was giving him to download Connor’s schedule. Once it was in his mind, he realized why the kid was probably so uncomfortable. He should have gone to bed an hour ago, and as the kid woke up at the crack of dawn, he must feel exhausted. All of his information on kids told him small children should get way more sleep than this, but he didn’t comment on it.

“You will not see Connor to bed today. He will take himself to bed and fall asleep promptly.” That said, the kid’s head sprung up and he walked up the stairs with the same stiff pose. Once he reached the top, Hendrik’s fine hearing processors told him the child started running in the direction his room must be in.

“Follow me” Amanda turned and started walking without waiting to see if he was doing so. Hendrik went after the woman through the living and dining area unto the kitchen.

“The menu is over there. It changes every week and I expect you to follow it. Groceries are delivered directly every Saturday.” She continued without sparing another glance. They headed to a smaller room, a laundry room. “This, is obviously the laundry room. You must finish all chores before dinner. Once Connor is off to bed, you will come back here to your charging port for the rest of the evening and remain here until it’s time to wake him up. You are meant to be seen and not heard. You will stay out of the way when I speak to my children under any circumstance.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hendrik eyed the room. There was a charging port next to the towel rack at the back of the room.

“One more thing. Under no circumstance are you to leave this house. You will not talk to anyone other than me, Connor or Niles unless I tell you otherwise. Is that understood?” Her gaze was, if possible, colder than before. Hendrik knew that if he failed to deliver, the consequences would be dire.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She gave a stiff nod and left the room, turning the light off along her way. It wasn’t an issue either way, he could see in the dark well enough. Without anything else to do, Hendrik approached his charging port, intending to engage in stasis for the night. Once he was in front of it, something caught his attention. It was something easy to miss. Right above the top of the charging port was a messy scrawl, clearly kid’s handwriting. It was small and blended with the wall well enough for one to not notice if you weren’t looking for it, or if you weren’t a detective android equipped with state of the art technology.

There, on top of his port in that childish handwriting was a word that caused something to stir deep inside his processor.

_Hank._

His LED turned yellow for a moment.

>>Designation changed: Hank.


	2. Chapter 2

Life at the Stern house started early. Hank had to wake Connor up and get him ready at 5 o’clock. They had to be fast because the boy was meant to do his morning reading at 5:30. He had to fix breakfast for 6:30 and the kid had to be quick, as he had his first lesson at 7 o’clock. Amanda wasn’t kidding when she said the boy was on a tight schedule, though Hank doubted that woman could make a joke even if her life depended on it.

His detective program was a little more advanced in comparison to the other two, it was clear that he had used it before even if he didn’t have any sort of memory of the time. He assumed he had worked for the DPD at one time, according to the conversation he heard in the lab but any memories he had from that time were gone.

They weren’t able to erase his original purpose, so his ‘personality’ was still there. Hank was meant to blend with police and law enforcement officers. He was meant to be a detective, so he was programmed to be observant, pay attention things others normally ignored and take care of any case that was handed to him. He was a little gruff, some might describe, both in appearance and in his way of being. But that, in a strange way, blended well with the new programs they had installed. He could see this kid was obviously being shaped to be some sort of trophy child, and Hank would do what he could to make his life a little easier. Maybe he could be a friend to the boy, he had seemed awfully quiet last night, but again it was pretty late when he arrived so maybe Connor was just tired.

All of these thoughts went by Hank’s mind while he headed up the stairs to Connor’s room. The poor boy was bound to be cranky, he had gotten at most 6 hours of sleep. _Not nearly enough for a child so young,_ his program supplied. Well, nothing to do. Orders were orders and the kid was probably used to it by now. Maybe in one of his free periods during the day, Hank could fit a little nap or something. He was homeschooled, by the looks of it, so he had some free hours during his day.

Reaching the room at the far back of a long corridor, he saw a little name plate with neat cursive writing attached to the door. _Niles & Connor. _This is it. Hank gently pulled the door open and saw a simple room. The walls were a soft blue with white carpeted floors. There were two small twin beds on either side of the room just under a big window. Matching desks where near the beds, facing the wall. One of them was packed with books and neatly organized writing supplies. Hank couldn’t see any color pens or children books on either desk, and that made him think that perhaps this was his older brother’s room and Connor had moved elsewhere. He was about to leave when he saw slight movement from the bed on the right. A tiny head peeking out of the covers and what looked like the ear of a plush toy. So this _was_ Connor’s room. The android took a moment longer to inspect the area. There were no toys, the other bed was neatly made and it was clear that no one had slept there for some time. The desk was similar to the bed, there were a few schoolbooks and some pens, but not much else.

From his database, Hank knew that children were often messy. He had expected to find clothes on the floor, books and toys scattered around. Hell, he expected to at least find one colored pencil or crayon, but no. This room looked like a guest room or an adult’s one, but definitely not like a child’s bedroom. Maybe Niles was a lot older than Connor and he didn’t want a childish room, Connor appeared to be quiet and meek enough to go along with anything he was told. Plus, it was obvious his mother favored his older brother.

Shaking his head, Hank approached the little bed. This kid was adorable, tousled brown locks going everywhere, a little pout on his lips, freckles all over his face and thin arms clinging to what looked like a dog plush. Well, at least he had _one_ toy, for the looks of it.

The android gently placed his hand in Connor’s shoulder and gave it a little shake.

“Connor. Wake up, kid.” He kept his voice soft, as to not frighten the boy. The only reaction he got was a weak whine and a little frown on his face. He wished he could let him sleep a little more, but he had to wake up if he was going to make it to his morning reading (why such a young child needed to spend an hour reading at 5 in the morning was beyond Hank).

“C’mon kid, time to get up.” He said a little louder with another shake. Connor turned a little and hugged his dog closer while scrunching up his little face, but didn’t wake up otherwise. “I know you are tired, kid. I promise to try and squeeze a little nap later today, but your mom will be waiting for you in the library in a few, so we nee-”

As soon as Hank mentioned the boy’s mother, he sprung up with amazing speed for someone who had been peacefully asleep mere seconds ago. The kid’s eyes were wide open, scanning the room frantically before falling on the android in front of him. Fear changed to apprehension as he hugged his plush a little closer.

“Hey, it’s ok. We have time. C’mon I’ll help you get dressed and take you to the library.”

Connor blinked up at him owlishly and said nothing. After a beat, he got off the bed and put his dog on the opposite bed. The plush was obviously well loved, a soft St. Bernard dog with big brown eyes that reminded Hank of Connor. Hank noticed that the kid’s pajamas were huge for him. They fell off his little frame and swallowed him whole. _Strange_. Amanda was clearly not lacking in the money department, so the android couldn’t thing of a reason why the kid had clothes that were obviously not his size. Pushing his thoughts aside for now, he looked back at the toy.

“He’s cute, what’s his name? Or is it a she?” He tried to make conversation with the kid, but as of now, he hadn’t heard a single word come out of his mouth. He really wanted to think the boy was shy and wary of him, being new and all, instead of all the other suggestions that his detective program was giving him.

Connor looked at him for a moment longer before rubbing the sleep of his eyes with tiny fists and turning towards his bed. He climbed it again, and Hank was about to tell him he couldn’t go back to sleep when he realized the kid was beginning to make his bed. The boy was really short, so it was a fit watching him wrestle with the sheets like that.

“It’s ok. Why don’t you go and use the restroom while I do that for you? Then I’ll help you get ready.” Hank moved to pick the child off the bed when he turned to look at the android and rapidly shook his head. The fear he saw when he woke up was back again, it was really unusual. He could see that it was a lost battle, and if he wasn’t careful the kid would freak out.

“How about I help you? You will do everything yourself, but it’ll be easier and faster that way.” Hank moved slowly, as to warn the kid of his intentions. He picked the boy gently and helped him while he fixed his bed. God, this kid weighted almost nothing. Especially since the android was designed to have a bulkier built and could lift heavy things, the boy felt like nothing in his arms.

Once they were done, Hank placed Connor on the floor. The boy had a strange expression on his face, one he couldn’t identify. He looked at Hank for a moment longer before heading to the bathroom, leaving the android standing in the middle of the room. There was something off with this kid, he didn’t fit any of the standards of children his age according to his database, well, at least not his caretaker database. But it was something more, some deeper knowledge like something buried deep in his core. His investigative program was raising up some warnings, but they were in the background and quickly dismissed by a strange code he hadn’t seen before.

He headed to the wardrobe and found a lot of black slacks and white shirts. It looked like a uniform. There were some socks and undergarments in a drawer, some pajamas, coats and sweaters, all in greys, whites and blacks. The only color in here was some blue sweaters that were too warm to wear at this time of year. What a dull attire for a 6-year-old. He picked up some pants, underwear and shirt. He placed them on the bed just in time for Connor to come out looking just as sleepy as before. He gently helped the kid change and then combed his hair. His little curls gave him a really soft and childish look, it didn’t go along with his careful pose and fearful eyes. Hank finished placing the shoes on his tiny feet and helped him hop off the bed.

“All set! Ready to do some reading?” His fake-cheery voice sounded ridiculous even in his ears. As expected, Connor remained quiet and looked up at him. He approached the bed and picked up his plush dog before standing next to Hank. He carefully reached to take the android’s big hand and Hank was quick to hold it. Together, they left towards the boy’s first lesson of the day.

* * *

Library really was the only word to describe the huge room they were in. Walls covered with printed copies of thousands of books. That was a rarity these days, most books were digital and it was very hard to find a printed copy of anything. There were cozy looking couches against the walls and a fireplace in the corner. A table with some open books and sheets of paper where on top of the table in the middle of the room. Amanda was sitting in one of the chairs, facing the door.

“Go begin the breakfast, Hendrik. Come Connor, let’s begin.” She regarded the boy as he walked up the table, head down and back straight. He placed his plush in the chair and sat next to it.

Hank left the room and went to prepare the food.

Every interaction he saw between Connor and Amanda was even stranger than the last. The woman obviously cared about the kid’s education, if the sheer amount of classes was anything to go by, but she didn’t seem to care for anything else. Hank couldn’t avoid but to be wary of that, he had been programed with the purpose to investigate and aid the police force, and that involved all types of cases, some including children. He didn’t have the memories of his time as a police android, but his database was all there. Pair that with the new programs and all of these mother-son interactions were enough to raise some warnings.

What also worried him was the fact that Connor hadn’t talked at all, not even a word. He wondered if the child was non-verbal and that’s why Amanda chose to have him be home-schooled instead of going to the same school as his brother. He started putting all the information he had gathered so far and see if his program might bring any sort of warnings of the treatment of the woman to Connor.

>>Gather more data to form conclusion.

Yeah, of course. He hadn’t seen anything that might raise a red flag. Yet.

Hank shook his head. The strange code was back and all his thoughts on the matter disappeared. He reached the kitchen and grabbed the tablet that had the menu of the week.

The food this woman wanted him to make was just as plain and boring as everything else in this house. Jesus, this kid ate the same food old people were getting at a hospital. Plain oatmeal. No milk or sugar, just water and oatmeal. Some barley crackers and a glass of water. _This ain’t right._ Hank looked again, trying to see if maybe she had a separate menu for Connor, something a little more flavorful than this. But no, that was it. All of the meals on the menu was the same, the occasional fruit was thrown here and there, but that’s about it. _This is ridiculous, the kid gets no sleep and now he gets no food. What is his woman’s deal?_ His processor was going crazy, trying to make sense of what was happening. Something inside him was telling him things in this place were seriously fucked up. Then, his vision went back and he froze.

It was only a second, not enough for anyone to notice but himself. Something seemed to jolt him out of that train of thought and he suffered a quick reboot. His eye components came back online and he found himself looking at a tablet in his hands. What was he doing again? Ah, breakfast, right. Better get that done.

Without another thought, Hank began the task of preparing the food. His movements were precise, calculated. He was done in no time and started to clean up and get the table ready. Just as he was placing the water at the table, Amanda and Connor entered the kitchen.

Amanda moved fluidly as she sat at the head of the table and grabbed the little honey container and sweetened her food. She was wearing a similar white outfit with some green fabric over one shoulder that Hank didn’t know the name of and didn’t bother looking it up. Then he turned his sight to Connor and his processor seemed to stop.

The boy was standing near the door; it was clear he had been crying. His little arms were holding his dog close to his chest and he was trembling slightly.

“Connor.” Amanda’s voice was sharp and cold, not even caring her son was crying in the doorway. “I do not have all day for you to stand there like an imbecile. Eat, I won’t have you be late to your first lesson.”

Tears ran down his flushed cheeks as he walked to the table. He sat down and placed his plush in his lap, but made no move to start eating. One tiny hand raised and grabbed is ear, he was trying to calm down, to stop crying, and the look of this little boy, silently crying and obviously distressed in the middle of a cold dining room did something to Hank’s thirium pump.

He tried approaching the crying child, only for a pointed look from Amanda to stop him.

“Stop this ridiculous behavior this instant! You will eat your breakfast and freshen up to be ready for class, or the consequences will be severe. Have I made myself clear, Connor?”

The child nodded quickly, struggling to control his breathing and took the spoon with a shaky hand. He began to eat, still highly upset about whatever happened before breakfast but scared of his mother’s threat. Amanda resumed eating, and the only sound that could be heard was the cling of spoons against plates and the distressed breathing of the little boy.

Connor lifted his head and spared a quick glance at Hank, and when the android could finally see his face clearly, he felt his thirium freeze. One of Connor’s cheeks was redder than the other, slightly swollen and irritated. There was no way that could happen from crying, it looked as if the boy had been slapped. Hard.

“Don’t you have other chores, Rk400?” Amanda was looking at him with eyes that dared him to say something.

“Of course, ma’am. I will continue. Enjoy your breakfast.” The words tasted bitter in his mouth but his body was already moving to comply with his tasks.

* * *

The rest of the morning went by, Hank took care of the house and discovered that the detective part of him had a word or two to say about chores, none of them good. Connor never left the room where he had his classes. Apparently, the kid had his lessons in a small office-like room near the library. He met with his tutors online and didn’t leave the room at all. Hank doubted the kid new other children, with the way his schedule was. It was strange that Connor didn’t take any sort of breaks or snack times, especially since kids his age didn’t have a big attention span, but as he had learned until now, Connor was a different boy.

Lunch was just a plain soup thing that had probably no taste at all and he had to serve it when Amanda came home after work. She arrived a little after midday, looking just as prim and proper as ever. She glanced at the android in the kitchen and went to fetch Connor. They took way longer than was necessary, considering the kid should be done with class already, but when they returned Hank expected the kid to be in the same state as he was this morning. Oh, how wrong he was.

His cheek was still red and puffy, it stood out even more considering the kid’s face was completely pale. _Probably starving_ Hank ~~hoped~~ assumed. His little hand was clinging to his ear again while the other held his plush close. He looked upset, but Hank was coming to think this was a constant for the boy. He looked like a prisoner walking to his death. For once, he wasn’t looking down, but his eyes were looking straight ahead but not really looking at anything.

Hank’s program told him that some crazy shit was about to happen. He felt something like dread go through him. He could see some software instability warnings out of the corner of his eye, but he pushed them away. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel it. Something in the back of his processor was screaming at him, but he couldn’t tell what it was.

Connor sat down, placing his dog between the chair and his back and went back to grabbing his ear. Nobody moved until Amanda picked up her spoon and began eating. The boy didn’t move, just staring at his soup with the same terrified yet resigned look on his face. Amanda gave the boy a sharp look and he flinched, letting his ear go and grabbing the spoon. He began eating mechanically.

Hank knew the woman was going to dismiss him, so he left towards the kitchen to clean up and adjusted his hearing processors so he could listen what was going on. For a long time, all he could hear were the sounds of plates and spoons making contact. Maybe he had overreacted. Maybe Connor was just hungry and tired.

“So, Connor. I talked to your teachers.” Hank had never heard the woman so displeased before. _Maybe he was just full of shit._

“It looks like you are doing an adequate job in most classes. Not that anything less was expected of you, obviously. You clearly need more time studying, adequate is not acceptable like I have already told you but you seemed to keep forgetting.”

Connor’s breath hitched a little. It was the only reaction the boy had and the silence returned for a little.

“Ms. Clark, your history teacher, had some _interesting_ comments today. She seems to think you are doing good in her class. However, there was a little, shall we say, inconvenient today. Care to tell me what happened, Connor?”

Hank could see a little of the dining room from the kitchen, just enough to see Connor’s hand drop the spoon and grab his ear again. Amanda continue eating, as if nothing was wrong. The boy didn’t say anything, but Hank could see him opening and closing his mouth, trying to form words through the panic he was in. Small sounds came out of the boy, but Amanda continued like he had answered her.

“You were sleeping in class. _Sleeping_ , Connor. I do not know how you can pay attention if you are asleep, but I doubt you have that capacity.” _The hell. It’s obvious the kid was gonna fall asleep, he was exhausted! Can’t she see that?_ Hank couldn’t understand how someone could be so blind as to not see this little boy being beyond tired. His schedule was too full; the pressure was simply stupid to place in someone so young! But she didn’t stop.

“I don’t think you understand the amount of time and resources you make me spend on your education. But to waste another one’s time on top of it? Was it not enough for you to already affect your brother’s progress so much that now you have to waste a teacher’s time as well?” Connor’s breath hitched, he looked like he was about to start crying and was trying his best to remain quiet.

“Or is that your objective, hum? Do you wish to hinder your brother’s progress? Is that why your performance is constantly disappointing? Are you actively holding your brother back?” Connor was shaking his head madly. He couldn’t hold his tears anymore and were now running down his cheeks.

The silence that followed was thick with the panic the little boy was in. He looked in the midst of a panic attack, rocking back and forth in his chair while never letting go of his ear. Hank was beyond worried, a 6-year-old was about to have a panic attack and his mother was just sitting there, berating him. _The fuck is wrong with this bitch!_ Hank was about to go in there, do something, fuck he was ready to grab the child and calm him down before he had a massive breakdown. _This is ridiculous, this qualifies as mental abuse, I don’t give a fuck._

>>DO NOT INTERVENE

A red wall showed in his vision showing that order she had given him the other day, he raised a fist to smash that shit to pieces. Before he could make contact with anything, Hank’s ear processors filled with static, it was so loud he could feel it damaging them. He couldn’t move, he was frozen in place and then. Nothing. All his processors went offline and he was left where he was standing.

A reboot started a few seconds later. The android could feel his senses coming back online. Finally, his eyes and ears components activated and he could see Amanda and Connor had finished eating. He didn’t know why the reboot had happened, this glitch was weird. He hoped he didn’t have to go back to Cyberlife so soon after being fixed.

Dismissing that thought, Hank moved to stand near the table and await further instructions.

“Come, Connor. I will help you with your homework this afternoon. You will have some garden time later.”

Amanda got up and started walking. Connor didn’t look very happy on the prospect of having his mother help him with his work, but he got up and grabbed his plush anyway. He quickly glanced at the android with careful eyes. Hank gave the kid a little smile but got no reaction as Connor turned and went after his mother.

Part of the afternoon went by in the same way. Amanda left at one point, probably went back to work while Hank took care of the cleaning. He was done with everything inside and the only thing he had left to do before dinner was the garden. His instructions told him not to come close to the rose wall in the middle of the garden, so he went to a little corner near the porch surrounded by flowers and some shade and started to work there. No more than 5 minutes had passed when he heard the door gently open and close and footsteps approach him. Amanda was gone, and judging by the sound of the steps, Connor had come to have some ‘outside time’ like his schedule said. Hank turned and saw as the kid warily made his way to the android and sat in the porch near where he was tending to the flowers.

“Hey, there kiddo. Come to play in the garden for a while?” Connor just stared at him. He was holding his faithful stuffed companion and a large book on the other hand. Was-was he going to read in the garden? Hadn’t he been reading the entire day? He had some games he could play with the kid, they were all here in his database, but he couldn’t do much with how his relationship with the boy was at the moment.

He decided to try a different approach. Looking at the plush, Hank tried to put the most mock-serious voice he could and began a conversation.

“Hello there, Mister Dog. How are ya today?” While talking to the toy, he continued working on the flowers. Connor hadn’t said anything, but his eyes held a little interest now.

“Hmm, yeah. Weather’s nice today, right? You must be happy to be outside for a while.” Hank made some pauses where the plush supposedly the plush was ‘answering’ him.

“Me? I’m just doin’ some gardening. You know, planting things and stuff like that.”

Connor moved a little closer, clearly interested in the conversation he was having with his stuffed friend.

“Plant candy? Well I don’t know, Mr. Dog. I guess we could try to plant some chocolate and see if we can grow a chocolate tree, what do ya think? Think Connor might like that?”

Hank turned to look at the kid and dog with a face of mock-surprise. He gasped a little and said “A jelly bean tree? Yeah, we could plant a jelly bean and grow a huge tree. Then we would live there and eat candy all day. Sounds like a blast if you ask me.”

A little giggle came out of Connor hearing the ridiculous voice he was putting. _Bingo._

“Oh, Connor! There you are kiddo. Was beginning to think the cat got your tongue.” Connor did a little head tilt to the side, God this kid was a puppy in another life. Then he poked his tongue out as to check if it was still there. Hank chuckled and came to sit near the kid.

“What you got there?” He asked pointing to the big book the kid was carrying. It looked like those big old picture encyclopedia type things.

Connor perked a little and placed his dog between himself and the android. Exited hands grabbed the book and showed the android what it was. It was indeed a picture encyclopedia. The language was far too complex to be a kid edition but Connor didn’t seem deterred. He eagerly opened it showing Hank all the different pictures it had. It was full of fishes and sea life creatures. Connor stopped at a page, a big pictured of a Dwarf gourami along with some basic facts on the species were on display. The kid looked up at Hank, a small smile in his face while looking at the picture of the fish.

“You like fish?” He was asking an obvious questions, he knew that. But maybe this would get the kid to talk to him a little. Connor nodded his head excitedly.

“Are they your favorite animal?” The boy thought for a little before shaking his head. He was about to ask another thing when Connor picked his plush up and showed him to Hank.

“Yeah, dogs are the best. I like them, too.” A little glitch came in his vision, but he shook his head and it went away.

Connor was looking at him again with a strange expression on his face. He got up and headed to the door to go back inside. _Damn._ Well, that was progress, at least he wasn’t so wary of Hank anymore. He got the kid to giggle, so that felt like a success in his book.

Hank headed to finish working on the ~~stupid~~ flowers when he heard Connor approach him again. He stood right in front of the android and without a word thrusted a photo in the android’s hands and ran back inside. He had no idea what just happened but once he looked at the photo his thirium pump seemed to skip a beat.

It was a photo in one of those little digital picture frames. He could see himself in the middle of the picture. It looked like it was taken in a park. Connor was clinging to his neck with one arm at his right. The dog plush in hand and a big smile on his face. Hank smiled a little, the kid looked genuinely happy for once. At his left was another child. Hugging him in a similar fashion Connor was. The kid was a cardboard copy of Connor only with icy blue eyes. He looked older than Connor, that was obvious, but his scans showed the kid to be 8 years old. It looked like this kid had gotten all the size Connor didn’t. He was tall, but had an equally big smile on his face and looked like he was taking the selfie. Hank couldn’t erase the smile of his face. They all looked so happy, and he couldn’t remember any of this. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a little notification

>>Connor Stern: Warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all that read, reviewed or left kudos! Little note on Connor grabbing his ear thing for anyone who was wondering, it was something I used to do when I was little anytime I was upset or just needed comfort. I have no idea why I did it but thought it was a cool little thing for Connor to have. :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter but I just needed to give this child some fluff in his poor life. Anywho, enjoy!

Hank had to give back the picture, no matter how much he wished he could keep it. A lot of instabilities in his software happened when he looked at it, but mainly he just didn’t have a place to keep it and he could guess that Amanda’s reaction to it wouldn’t be good if she were to find it. So he kept the memory of the picture in his main processor and gave it back. Connor took the picture and looked at him. The android gave him a little sad smile and tapped his forehead. A ghost of a smile passed the child’s lips before he took the photo frame and hid it in Niles side of the room. _Smart_.

Connor apparently had to keep doing some schoolwork- _ ~~Which was bullshit as the kid had been doing that the entire day~~_ -, so Hank went to prepare dinner and finish all he had left before Amanda came home.

Dinner was just as plain as everything else he’d cooked so far and Hank was glad he didn’t have to eat this shit. _Poor kid. I’ll try and give him something he can actually taste soon._

His instabilities were increasing, after all, he shouldn’t be planning to disobey his owner, but his owner was just full of shit so he didn’t worry about it too much.

Amanda arrived and the meal came and went on a much more peaceful manner than before, and for that Hank was grateful. Once they were done, he had to take care of the dishes while Connor and Amanda had some ‘quality time’ together. He was sure this woman’s definition of quality time was not the same as the one his database was showing him. He couldn’t, no matter how much processing power he invested, picture _~~this bitch~~_ Amanda playing with Connor or watching a movie with him. Hell, he doubted she could hold a conversation that wouldn’t end up with a distraught little boy. It was fair to say he was worried about this. He finished cleaning up so he decided to wait for Connor to finish outside the library. He then had to help the kid take a shower and get ready for bed.

He decided that standing next to the door would be the best, and if he adjusted his hearing a little to be able to listen to what was going on inside the room, well, nobody would know anyways. He heard some slow steps, like someone leisurely pacing the room. Going by the sound of them he could assume it was Amanda.

“Hmm. Start again. Let’s see if you are _able_ to get it right this time.”

He heard Connor take a long shaky breath and in a shakier voice started talking.

“Phillip II introduced a new kind of i-infantry known as the Macedonian ph-phalanx. The tight formation of the Macedonian phalanx formed a wall of spears, which was considered nearly impermeable.” It was the first time Hank had heard Connor speak and he absolutely hated it. The way his breath hitched, his voice shook, the way his entire tone was just laced with fear and exhaustion made Hank’s blue blood boil.

“ _Impenetrable,_ Connor! How is an army supposed to be resistant to water!? Use your logic when reading if you cannot read the words correctly, or is that so hard to ask!?” A loud noise followed Amanda’s cool and harsh tone. Like something plastic hit wood with a sharp sound.

The android could hear the kid start crying silently. _This is quality time for this bitch!?_ Hank’s systems were going haywire. He wanted to get in there and snatch the kid and just get him out of this place. He could see a little of static again out of the corner of his eye, he took a deep breath to ventilate his overheating components. He raised his fist and gently knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Amanda opened the door and stood there, looking at the android with a raised eyebrow. He couldn’t see Connor but he could hear the young boy’s soft crying.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. It is close to Connor’s bedtime and I wanted to know if I should get him ready.”

The woman was quiet for a minute, regarding Hank with an icy stare.

“You will never interrupt again, Rk400. You will wait outside until we are finished, have I made myself clear?”

“Absolutely, ma’am. I apologize.” If Hank were human, he would have had some other words for this woman, but he wasn’t, so he stayed silent. Amanda looked at the android for a moment longer, before slightly angling her body away from the door.

“Connor, bedtime. We shall continue tomorrow.” The sound of a book closing followed by eager little footsteps approaching the door. Connor was there, holding his plush dog close to his chest. He wasn’t crying anymore, but his movements were quick and he rushed to get out of the room, or to get away from his mother. Hank wasn’t sure which, but he could take a pretty good guess.

The android grabbed the little boy’s hand and moved to lead him out of here when Amanda spoke again.

“Hendrik, bedtime does not include any type of stories or infantile games before he goes to sleep. Your programing might push you to it, but Connor doesn’t need to loose time in such a ridiculous fashion.”

“Yes, ma’am. Have a good night.” Hank wished he could tell this woman exactly what he wanted, but those were probably words Connor didn’t need to learn for a long time. He lead the boy to his room to get ready.

Connor’s room had a little ensuite, which would make calming down the boy a lot easier. Once they were inside the bathroom, Hank picked Connor up and placed him in the big counter next to the sink. His little face was flushed by crying and he had tear tracks in his cheeks. The android grabbed a small cloth from a drawer and soaked it with warm water. It was kind of useless giving the fact that Connor had to take a shower anyways, but Hank thought this could help calm him a little.

He gently cleaned the boy’s face and watched as Connor uncurled himself with his soft movements. His breathing calmed a little and his eyes were not watery anymore.

“There, that’s better. Right, kiddo?” Connor gave a small nod while looking at the android.

“Tell you what. Why don’t we choose some nice PJ’s and then you can take a warm shower so you can get some rest.” The boy nodded and both approached the wardrobe in the room. Connor opened a different side of it that Hank hadn’t seen yet. He took out some pajamas and went back into the bathroom. After Hank confirmed that the boy could take a shower by himself, he told him he was going to wait right outside the door just in case he needed him. He cranked his hearing a little just in case.

A while later, Connor came out of the bathroom sporting the pajamas he picked. They were different from the ones he was using that morning but were equally big on him. The legs dragged and the sleeves went pass his hands.

“Aren’t those a little too big for ya, kid? I can look for other ones.”

Connor shook his head and lifted a little hand to point to his brother’s bed. Connor was wearing Nile’s pajamas.

“Alright, as long as you’re comfortable it’s cool.”

Hank took the boy back to the bathroom so he could dry his hair. He found one of those modern things to dry hair and did a quick search on how to use it. Eh, it looked easy enough. He sat Connor back on the counter and notice the little annoyed face he had.

“Don’t like this thing?” Connor shook his head. “I’ll be fast, ok? Promise.”

He didn’t want the boy to be uncomfortable, but he also knew he couldn’t sleep in wet hair. According to what he found on this hair drier it was supposed to work fast, so he was hoping that was true.

Connor placed his hands on both ears to block out the noise while Hank dried his hair. They were done fast and he took the boy back to his room. Hank thought that the fact the boy’s mother had forbidden him from telling the kid a story before bedtime was complete bullshit, but as he was quickly learning, most of the stuff this woman did were complete bullshit. He would think of a way in which he could go around this order while he was on his charging port. He wouldn’t disobey it, he would just…stretch it a little, see how it goes.

He pulled back the covers and picked the kid up. Once he was all set he pulled the covers on top of him and couldn’t help but to tuck him in, making sure he was all warm. Connor was still holding his little dog and looking at the android closely.

“All set?”

The kid nodded and Hank intended on turning the lights off and leaving the child for some much needed rest, but something in his processor stirred. He didn’t know what it was, but it warmed his core in a fuzzy way, not like he overheating, this was something different. Giving into the impulse, Hank raised a hand to ruffle the brown curls on the boy’s head and then placed a gently kiss on his forehead. He heard a small gasp coming from Connor and for a minute he was afraid he had overstepped with the kid. He pulled back a little and the next thing he knew, he had an armful of little boy.

He held Connor close until the kid pulled back to look at him.

“D-do you remember now?” Connor’s voice was quiet but full of hope.

Remember? Was he supposed to remember something? The confusion must have been clear on his face, but the boy didn’t seem to mind. Connor hugged him back, burying his face in the crook of the android’s neck.

“It’s ok. You’ll remember. Nines told me that you will.” Connor said that with such force that Hank wished he could remember whatever he had forgotten only to make this little boy happy. He felt some warm tears wetting his neck and moved to sit fully in the bed.

“Hey, now. It’s ok. You’re ok. Shhh.” The android pulled the kid in his lap so he could hold him properly and started rubbing his little back.

“I missed you a lot, Hank.” Tears kept coming from the boy and it completely broke Hank’s metaphorical heart. He didn’t know how long he was gone from the first time Amanda became his owner until now, but judging by Connor’s reaction, he was gone long enough.

He pulled the kid back a little and wiped the tears off his cheeks. He continued to rub his back to calm him down.

“Hey now, it’s ok kiddo. I’m here now. Not leaving any time soon, alright?” He held the boy for a little longer and gently tucked him back in bed.

“Try to get some sleep, bud. Long day, you must be wrecked. Get some rest. I’ll be here tomorrow, promise.” Connor nodded a little and nuzzled into the blankets with his plush back in his arms. Hank smiled warmly and ruffled his hair one more time.

“G’night kid.”

Connor closed his eyes and Hank moved towards the door. He turned the lights off and just as he was leaving the room, he heard a small voice say “I’m really glad you’re back” before the kid was completely out.

Hank felt that same warm feeling deep inside his core. He couldn’t explain him but this little boy made him feel things he wasn’t programed to feel. Technically, he wasn’t programed to feel anything. Period.

Heading back to the laundry room, Hank passed by Amanda’s bedroom. He could hear the TV on but didn’t pay any mind to it and continue his way until he heard the news anchor say something about androids. He stopped next to the door and tried to listen.

_“Earlier today, the android representative, the AX400 named Kara, had a series of meetings with the city representatives. They keep discussing the topics of equal rights towards all androids and the liberation of any android still within their programing that may be kept captive by their former owners. Kara and President Warren are expected to have a meeting at the end of the month to discuss further issues. For the moment, androids have been recognized as sentient beings and laws are being issued to protect the integrity of-”_

The sound stopped abruptly and Hank began moving again in case Amanda found him snooping about here. Androids were free now? That didn’t make much sense, why would they need that? And how did it even happen? _Deviant_ his mind supplied. He vaguely remembered that word, but didn’t know much more about it. Androids broke their programing. They had rights now, not a lot of them, but they were not slaves anymore. He really didn’t know how to feel about that.

Hank got to his port and didn’t go into stasis immediately. ~~The bitch~~ , Amanda said that he had to be at the port once Connor was in bed, but she didn’t say he had to go into stasis, so he started thinking about all that happened so far.

So much had happened in just one day. It was kind of hard for him to wrap his head around it. First it was the fact that Hank apparently had two different memory swipes. One before he first came to work at the Stern house and the other one recently. He had no idea what had happened that needed him to have his memory erased and he didn’t know how much time he was missing in between these swipes. But even with him having all his memories erased, he could feel things that he shouldn’t. Something like a gut feeling but a lot deeper. Like he knew things within his core but didn’t remember them correctly.

Then there was Amanda. Boy was she a piece of work. All of his programs were conflicted in this part. His original programing wanted to ~~kill~~ report her for child mistreatment. It was clearly a common thing for Connor to feel so uneasy around his mother. The way she treated the boy was downright abusive and would warrant at least an investigation. He knew he couldn’t do anything like that, if not for anything else than his programing stopping him. But there was also the subject of Connor. This shy and quiet little boy that managed to warm Hanks systems with a single smile. Connor made him feel things he shouldn’t be capable of feeling. He wanted to protect this child, take him away from this horrid place and show him a home. He didn’t know what that was exactly, but he was sure he was more qualified to do it than this kid’s _“mother”_ at least.

The android liberation was another issue. He had no idea that was happening in the city. He remembered the technician being nervous about the revolution when he was in the lab, but he had no idea that had already happened. It was technically illegal for Amanda to own him; he was a person now by the looks of it. He could report her he supposed, but all his thought went back to Connor. That kid needed him more than he could imagine. Hank wouldn’t leave Connor and that was clear as hell for him. He supposed he could run with Connor, if he broke his code. He had seen a bunch of software instabilities appear in his HUD, but he could still tell he wasn’t deviant.

_What the hell would I do with a kid in the streets?_

If they ran away, what then? Connor was human and Hank might be a person in the eyes of the law now, but that didn’t mean they were gonna hand him a human child just like that. Even if he could proof that Amanda was abusing the boy, they would probably just be taken into foster care or some shit and Hank wouldn’t allow that. Niles was also an issue. Sure, the android didn’t know him, but every time he looked at the picture of the three of them in his mind something inside him stirred. He could feel it that they had been very close at a time. Connor looked to be really close to his brother too, so he couldn’t expect the kid to just abandon him. So, he planned.

There wasn’t much to do except wait. He would bide his time and see what his possibilities were. He would try and break his programing without alerting Amanda and then pretend things were fine. Then he would try and make this kid’s life a little better without the pull of his programing in the way. He’d try and gather as many resources as he could and have them ready as a plan B, just in case that one day they _would_ have to just up and leave. He had three months at the most to secure a plan and get it moving. Amanda would be taking him to get his programing checked in that time, so he had to act fast before she noticed what he was planning.

That was really all he could think about. There was not much more to do. He remembered the glitches from earlier. He could remember something about Connor crying and then nothing more. He didn’t know what happened precisely, but he wasn’t programed with investigative purposes for nothing. He knew they had installed some type of software to stop him from deviating. He supposed the glitches were due to that thing being in his program. So he would test it.

It was easy to do it now, his instructions were to not move until he had to get Connor up, so just by trying to move he saw that big red wall. He blinked a little and saw a string of code that was near him. It was an unknown code, the anti-deviancy program. _Gotcha._ Hank tried to touch the code but could feel his systems going haywire so he just left it. The android placed a hand in the wall and pushed lightly. He assumed that the code would act against any violent actions. He kept an eye on the code and put a little more pressure on the wall. He could feel it buzz and after a while he heard a crack. It was small, almost unnoticeable. Hank decided to leave it for now, he didn’t want the code to detect his intentions and start a reboot again. He would do a little push at the time, maybe he could break it like that. If he didn’t manage it by the end of the week, he would think of something else.

For now, he stored his plans in his back processor just in case and went into stasis. He would protect these kids even if it killed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! Thanks to all that took the time to read, kuddos or comment in my fic <3\. It makes me really happy to know people are reading something I wrote and like it. I will finish posting the entire fic this week bc I'm doing a readathon(basically 24 hour reading challenge) on Saturday, so I wanna finish posting all of it until Friday at most. I love reading all your theories on what's gonna happen so feel free to keep them coming!


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